The Royal - Thomian What
It Really Is About....
Every year Royalists and Thomians near and far, old and
young and all that jazz flock to the S. S. C. in the "pretence" of watching
an enthralling game of Cricket. Actually the Royal - Thomian "hype" is built
up a few days before. The worst thing (or good thing, depending on how you
look at it) is that Cricket has nothing to do with it. It is the Royal -
Thomian as an "event" that causes all the anticipation and the excitement.
The
students begin their preparations a few weeks earlier as they have lots of
very important things to handle such as to organise a "TRUCK" to go on
during the "CYLCLE" parade. There was once an instance when maps of a girls
school situated near College were sold during the cycle parade (by a certain
enterprising person on this Magazine committee) and I must say that they
came in very handy to all of us who were fortunate enough to have it when it
was most needed!
Usually the official route of the parade is rather long
and tedious - and I think those who organise do this with various ulterior
motives. They just do not realise the simplest thing - it is QUALITY and NOT
QUANTITY that matters. That means that WE DON'T WANT TO GO FOR A DAMN LONG
WALK AS LONG AS WE GO TO THE PLACES OF "INTEREST"
The cycle
parade seems to be a kind of mating call, where the boys try to make the
best impression on the fair damsels of the neighbouring educational
institutions. BUT, what they don't seem to realise in their enthusiasm is,
that they are making clowns of themselves. Fortunately, this goes unnoticed
by many because all you have to do is look around. I remember an instance
when one of the paraders decided to scale the wall of a certain educational
institution and show everyone a full moon in mid afternoon. What is sad
about the cycle parade is that the powers that be in girls schools get
paranoid about it and ensure that the gates are gates are locked and barred
and manned by scrawny security personnel forgetting, of course, the old
adage - if there is a will there is always a way!
As the
parade draws to ah end the real "Event" draws closer. As I said, cricket has
hardly anything to do with it, or if it does, very minimally.
On all three days people rush into the S.S.C like a tidal
wave and occupy every nook and comer of the grounds. They come in different
shapes, sizes and forms. You might even look around and wonder if there is
an alien invasion and then, you realise, they are just Thomians dressed in
their dreary blue black and blue and praying to the Almighty to help them be
esto pepetua.
To all or to most present at the grounds they have just
one thing in their minds - that's how to tame a "Lion or two" with a friend
call "John" (or even "Benson" depending in your "taste" in friends) while
singing loving songs about the Burgher lady next door who died under very
tragic circumstances.
That brings us to another feature of the Royal Thomian
that warrants an in - depth discussion - The Songs that have been sung by
generations of Royalists and Thomians. If one is of an inquisitorial frame
of mind, one might begin to wonder how, why, when and where these songs
originated. There are songs about everyone and everything. For instance,
there are ditties about a woman from Kent who had a "funny incident" at a
foot ball match, about Vasco Da Gama and his "adventures" in the Bahamas,
about a man from Madras and his reactions to stormy weather and also about
our very own King Walagamba and his lovely wife. There are many more of
these innovative songs and if you are interested in improving your
repertoire I suggest you spend some time near the Mustangs' tent and I am
sure you will find it profitable.
Another very important item in the Royal-Thomian (NO NO
it's not the Cricket!) are the pitch invasions. Unfortunately it's not
permitted anymore and it detracts from the excitement of the Royal-Thomian.
On
arriving at the grounds bright and early everyone is greeted with a little
leaflet handed to you at the gate and in case you decide to throw it away as
being a hand - out not worth your attention (after all you do have more
pressing things on your mind) another is placed on your chair (which I am
sure will not remain a chair for very long) informing the would -
bemiscreants of the diabolical results of invading the pitch during the
match. The Organising Committee is so fixed in their intention that these
leaflets are even given to "geriatrics", who look very unlikely to scale the
wall and invade the pitch. But this is not as foolish as it appears - the
Organising Committee knows that looks are deceptive. After all, as the day
progresses and after everyone has tamed one "Lion" too many, nothing is
impossible.
Many hilarious incidents have taken place as a result of
the pitch invasions. We have seen the birth of wicket worshipping cults,
fielders being tackled by invaders in the process of taking a catch and it
finally being taken (the catch, I mean) by the invader - who was fortunate
enough to live to tell the tale. Chairs have been taken up to a tired umpire
or fielder who has been toiling in the baking sun for hours and invited to
rest.
There is only one place and one place alone where all
these things happen and yet be seen as utterly and absolutely normal and
that's at the Royal - Thomian! At the Royal - Thomian, you can act and
behave in any way you wish. Think you are making an idiot of your self - no
Sirrah - take a look around you - everyone is doing the same! The young and
the old the rich and the poor, the famous and the not so famous go back in
time to the best years of their life. Amidst all this merry making and
tomfoolery the Cricket goes hardly noticed, except for a few wickets and the
odd boundary.
The Cricket is like music while driving a vehicle - it's
just there in the background. You never pay proper attention to it but know
it's there ..............
Floreat!
Amaranath Fernando
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